Fluff Lovers' Dreams
by Icarusy
Summary: Favourite pairings get their shot at the lighter side of life, because even angst needs to take a backseat every once in a while. [ongoing collection] [SasuSaku focused]
1. Nature Loving

This will be a series of drabbles/short oneshots of various pairings (no slash). The most serious genre it gets will be Drama, hopefully,with the main focus attempting to be lighthearted romance/fluff. I've finally decided angstangstangst can't be all that healthy for me. All requests open, as long as it is het.

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**Nature Loving**

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"Where's he going now? Quick, quick tell me."

Sharingan wheels whirred obediently and Sasuke hesitated briefly before pointing.

"There."

"Ah..."

She had tied her hair back, save for the unruly strand curling around her cheek. It prevented her bangs from falling over her eyes and allowed him to admire her smooth pale neck while she was distracted.

"There's another! Is he coming this way?"

Said creature swung lazily in the general direction of where they were crouched, and Sasuke estimated the stream's currents desperately. "Aa... soon." She leaned nearer to the rippling surface, hand gingerly extended in hopes of brushing the tip of the fish as it swum pass in blissful oblivion.

What the hell could be so fascinating about the damn fish? No matter how rare it was or how intriguing the seasonal migrations, Sasuke decided Sakura needed to stop reading so widely. Jutsus and traps should be good enough, as it was for him. All these impromptu nature lessons could hardly be so important that she had to keep dragging him along without the usual goal of getting his attention. A delighted gasp broke him out of his half sullen jealousy and alarmed, he grasped the back of her clothes when she seemed in danger of falling headfirst into the stream.

Green eyes sparkled in bewildering happiness, but they weren't directed at him. "Amazing, aren't they? Just like those nesting birds last week."

"...Aa."

He couldn't care less. She, on the other hand, was vibrant and beautiful and not in the least bit interested in him at the moment. Sasuke's eyes continued their lazy survey of her as she unconsciously leaned into him while still engrossed in her latest interest. Still, it was relieving to be able to drop his guard enough to admire her freely and breathe in her scent while she was distracted. Maybe he should start giving her more of these nature books to read while she still thought she needed his eyes. It wasn't often he was able to be himself around her, and he gave her an absent smile she didn't see as she gazed past his head to the stream.

Maybe one day, he'd even tell her his sharingan couldn't actually predict the creatures' movements.

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___can't believe i'm jealous of a fish_

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Comments, crit, requests all welcome. Basically, all feedback wanted.


	2. When Hinata met Shino

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**When Hinata met Shino**

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Shino was a deep sleeper.

Unlike the vast majority of shinobis- or at least, surviving shinobis, he could afford to be one. His kikai would inform him of any foreign chakra within a five metre radius and like most shinobi, he was able to snap from deep oblivion to instant alert in a matter of seconds, especially since those seconds could save your life.

However, there _were_ a few rare occasions when his bugs judged a friend safe enough to let their master continue . Hinata giggled quietly to herself and gingerly stretched out her hand to complete the ritual. Blue flames of chakra flickered delicately on her fingertips before the kikia swarmed over and carried off the bribe of a gift. Already she could feel some gathering tactfully on the back of her clothes to show their acceptance of her in their own peculiar insectiod way, though always polite enough not to enter her clothes. She stilled for a moment to let them settle, then carefully knelt down beside her sleeping teammate, medic kit rustling the grass as it fell beside her.

He looked different. It always surprised her how... human he looked without his shades and coat obscuring him from the world. The stiff fabric was folded neatly under his head of dark unruly hair, and in his sleep he looked vulnerable- a boy dreaming in a forest clearing. Hinata ignored the usual tinge of guilt for invading on something so private, but really, this had been her special spot where she could hide herself from the world and enjoy being herself for a while before he'd started taking sporadic naps here, bringing reality with him.

Not that she minded. His kind of reality was welcome, a relief from the harsher one waiting at home. It was of teams and friendships and kind senseis who encouraged rather than shoved. It was of understanding between her teammates and her, despite their vast differences, and a mutual respect for each's individuality. But Kiba's rowdy welcomes for her, while touching in sincerity, never seemed to comfort her as much as Shino's quiet acceptance did, and now, even in sleep, the same silence made the hush of the afternoon seem more soothing than usual.

Hinata's breath caught as the boy jerked in his sleep, then only relaxed again when the twist in the brows cleared. Her hand lingered timidly over his forehead before brushing away dark hair to reveal pale skin marred by a bright red cut. Healing is therapeutic to the applier in it's own way, or at least, it was to her. For his case, she preferred to think of it as payment for trespassing in what was technically Hyuuga land, though really, he was more than welcome here anyway. Still, she had to make sure not to fully heal his minor cuts and scrapes to avoid suspicion, just doing enough to speed up the process.

A simple, comforting routine- Hinata hummed to herself as ointment was applied in light strokes, smiling as the kikai showed her other mild injuries their master had by gathering near the area. This was how life should be, what she looked forward to after an exhausting training session or a particularly vicious encounter with her family. Sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead and it was peaceful and quiet and...

Shino was waking up.

For one second of pure irrational terror, Hinata froze, hand held stiffly over his forehead and body still leaning over his. She saw the glimmer of consciousness emerging beneath the eyelids, felt the warmth on her wrist as his hand groped hers, heard the thundering in her ears. And in that second, Shino emerged groggily from his sleep, saw the iliac eyes, and against all character and reputation,_ smiled_ at her. A genuine, full-blown Aburamesmile.

Later, Hinata would remember those warm dark eyes and that special smile that came with it when others would see a bug freak. Later, Shino would continue to watch Hinata through dark lenses and forget not to smile when he collected the chakra presents she gave him through his kikai. Later, while Kurenai wouldn't wonder about Hinata's blushes or Shino's protectiveness- she'd been around too long for that-, she'd smile and arrange matters so their silent conversations didn't have to be quite so silent. And one day when she was ready, Shino would give her a rose crafted out a mix of her chakra and his, and Naruto would finally be out of the picture and out of her mind.

But right now, it was just a boy waking up in more ways than one, and a girl finding a teammate being more than just that. Shino was forgetting how to be himself, and Hinata was smiling back because for once, she couldn't remember either.

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_it's a beautiful day_

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Ah... **Kesshin**, dear boy, thanks for all your comments. I'm aware this doesn't fall exactly under fluff, but I'm an angst personand it DOES go under "sweetness", especially if you squint a little. Tried to do a shizune X kabuto one (can't resist the challenge, heh) but it led to smut/angst but I WILL attempt for a fluffy one again later. XP

For those starving for fluff, a fluffy SasuSaku coming up next!

Many thanks to all reviewers; concrit, comments and all feedback very welcome. XD


	3. Reading Underneath the Underneath

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**Reading Underneath the Underneath**

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When she came to training one morning with a heady smile and bruised lips, he knew it was over.

Naruto was oblivious as expected, only slightly suspicious but readily delighted that his Sakura-chan hadn't greeted him with the customary whack on the head but instead, a cheery greeting and a radiance that lasted throughout the day. His protege's reaction was more puzzling, the dark haired boy only flickering his eyes from Sakura's flushed cheeks to the distinctly red marks on her neck before turning away, albeit stiffer than usual. Kakashi grinned knowingly behind his mask and wondered at the lack of reaction. Perhaps his previous suspicions on Sasuke's true feelings towards his pink haired admirer had been placed too much hope on- he'd always thought the Uchiha avenger had been the jealous type. Public possessiveness over his cherry blossom would be taboo for him of course, but Kakashi had at least half expected him to quietly seek out the trespasser and teach him a painful lesson or two.

The next day was the same- her secret smiles, Naruto's blissful bafflement, and Sasuke's too-blank face and careful indifference of Sakura's glowing eyes. His lone eye saw more than most thought, but that day he made special efforts to keep a closer watch on his trio. Beneath his mask, he pretended not to hear Naruto's innocent questions about the "big red bruises" on his teammate's neck, and Sakura's embarrassed stammers of an excuse that well no, no one had hurt her and it was urm, a... mosquito bite. However, while he pretended not to see her former crush's ill-masked irritation, he couldn't resist baiting the boy by mentioning, almost offhandedly, that that was one big mosquito. The day ended with him pocketing the famous Uchiha Glare ™ and almost regrettably, no word of any beaten up male found.

It was amusing, and slightly intriguing, to watch his team's interactions throughout the following week. While he was vaguely curious to know which lucky genin had managed to snare his female student, he satisfied himself with hoping it wasn't Gai's favorite- oh kami, the horrors if Gai found they shared something in common- and aggravating Sasuke with sly remarks. The Konoha heartthrob was hilarious nowadays; he made a careful note of the fluctuating moods, mostly confused resentment, that Sakura evoked. Still, while one member of the team was irritably distracted most of the time, he was pleased to find the kunochi finally catching up. After the first week of giddy delight, she'd finally settled down and started to seriously work her limits instead of working for the Uchiha's attention.

Strangely, she really _did_ seem happier these days with her secret catch. He'd assumed she was playing the jealousy game since all the signs were there- the warmth still in her eyes when upon lighting up on Sasuke, the careful efforts not to shower too much affection, the half-impatient, half-quizzical looks she sent his way when he wasn't looking. But when she kept coming back practically glowing with happiness and the sporadic poorly-hidden hickey, he'd wondered whether she was playing for both sides. Somehow, that thought was disturbing. Sakura had always struck him as the loyal type- sometimes, almost too loyal for her own good.

Something still wasn't adding up, though, Kakashi mused as he stretched out on a tree branch with his trusty book in hand, half an eye on Naruto creeping up behind him. One month since that fateful morning, and_ still_ Sasuke hadn't made his move. He hadn't believed there was that much patience in the boy, but Uchihas always did have a knack for being stubborn to the point of idiocy at times. Hopefully the lecture he gave his raven-haired protege yesterday on him being unfocused -with a subtle nudge to solve the problem by confronting it- would finally push the boy into action before it was too late. His silence had been encouraging, Kakashi thought distantly as he grabbed a triumphantly charging Naruto by the scruff and held him at arm's length. It showed he was actually _listening_ for once.

"-ack! Legoo of me! You didn't even see me!"

Kakashi dropped the struggling boy unceremoniously on the ground below. "Aa... you're too noisy. Don't snicker when you're trying to attack your enemy," he added absently.

Naruto's loud indignation became part of the background and Kakashi read a little more of his book while waiting for silence to settle again. He looked down to see the blond scuffing the ground with his foot and muttering furiously under his breath.

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei? Did you hear about Sasuke-basta... Sasuke and Sakura-chan?"

Kakashi hid his diamond bright interest under a well-faked yawn. "Hmm? What about them?"

Naruto looked mournful. "You didn't know either? They're going out now, in public. And th-"

"What about the other boy?"

The blue eyes looked blank. "What other boy?"

Kakashi hesitated. Something was tugging at the back of his mind, insistently and disturbingly. But of course, it _couldn't _be possible; this was _Sasuke_ they were talking about...

Naruto was still talking. "-told me to tell you thank you. Or at least Sakura-chan made him tell you because of course Mr high and mig-"

"What?"

Th ramen obsessed boy gave a long-suffering sigh and glared at him accusingly. The older man tried to look as apologetic as a man in a mask could.

"Sasuke said, "said Naruto slowly, enunciating every word, "thank you. About the talk yes. ter. day. Sakura-chan said if it weren't for you, he still wouldn't want to come out in public." The voice changed to a wail. "But why didn't you tell_ me_, sensei? For one whole month you didn't even give a tinny winny _hint _they were going out in secret! Whyy not? I'm a team member, remember?"

Well, Kakashi had thought he was a team member too, but right now all he could do was keep his jaw from dropping.

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_i'm a closet romantic_

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Well, here's the fluffy one I promised. Many thanks to those who reviewed, though due to problems with ffnet (damn fic wouldn't be shown on the listing when I uploaded the second one) there weren't many reviews for the previous chapt.  
::evil cackle:: Couldn't resist the title for this one, I tell ya.

Concrit, requests, andreviews all very welcomed and appreciated.


	4. All Fair in Love and War

**All Fair in Love and War**

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Sixty-four percent of casualties occur in the long chase home after the mission objective has been completed.

The cut above her eyebrow measured the seconds in solemn drops of scarlet as she lifted her head once more to gasp for breath, shoved rhythmically against his chest with both hands before bringing her mouth down to force desperate, man-made life into her companion's.

_Onetwo breath push_push_ threefour breath pushdamnyouKakashilive_live

Sixty-four percent of casualties occur in the long chase home after the mission objective has been completed. And they'd been so close to home when the ambush hit too.

Kurenai started to feel the helpless terror every experienced jounin knows and dreads in the face of their partner slipping away in their hands. She was pulling back for more air when the man below her stirred, choked and began to cough violently as clear, red-tinged stream water gurgled from his throat. The relief nearly stopped her hands in their actions.

"Hold still! Hold st--damnit Kakashi, stop fighting me!"

Kakashi's discipline finally overruled instinct and his thrashing stopped, bright mismatched eyes trying to focus as she helped him choke out the water. Eventually the choking died down into sporadic coughs of water and both of them started to really breathe again in the sheer, glorious relief that he wasn't –oh no- going to die. Not today, at any rate.

In the funny way minds work, it is in the post-exhaustion of a battle and basic sweet exaltation in the realization that one has survived a brush with death that one truly, really appreciates life in all its trivial, precious detail.

Still giddy with relief, Kurenai's mind was regaining its well-known calm by appreciating those details such as say, the way Kakashi's damp ash hair was streaked with pink from the mix of their blood and -very casually and _definitely_ without a little ridiculous thrill- how damn right those rumors about the mystery jounin' supposedly devilishly handsome face really was true.

In fact, a little sly voice noted as she panted and knelt over Kakashi's sprawled body to do the customary check up, she was probably ha, the first fema--

Kakashi's eyes rolled up to show its whites and he stopped breathing.

"Wha… Damnit! Kakashi!"

Air, air, he needs air fast and now, she screamed at herself, all composure lost to horrified panic.

Thus, weak with wounds and in the confusing aftermath of a recent battle, she lost her judgment to see the logic in a repeated lapse of breathing as unlikely and acted rashly, which was a completely normal and moreover, innocent thing to do.

…At least, that's what she tried to persuade herself (and later, others, who conveniently didn't seem to understand) on the following... event that happened next.

It took her all of three seconds, in her panic, to find that the mouth she was trying to force air in was not quite as limp as what she was accustomed to. In fact, it was surprisingly persuasive in its skill- taking wicked advantage of her unsuspecting open mouth to plunder with easy dexterity with his tongue. Warmth from their proximity and the male, _Kakashi_ scent of metal and earth enveloped her— and she was lost in the unexpected haze of warm pleasure and female arousal. There was a rumbling chuckle from Kakashi as Kurenai responded instinctively and unconsciously leaned down unto him.

Long fingers suddenly found themselves entangled in her inky hair and pulled her firmly into a deeper kiss, and she was hazily thinking he tasted of metallic copper and mountain snow when reality whizzed past them with an explosive tag attached.

((Later, Kurenai would ignore her ash-haired companion for the rest of the short flight home, despite that grin and his deliberate forgetting of not putting on that damn mask again.))

Kakashi started and jerked away, lone black eye still cloudy with desire.

((Later, she would curse and have to resist the urge to bang her head- her previously sensible, rational head!- on the nearest tree whenever she walked past a stream, which Konoha's forests suddenly seemed flooded with.))

The sharingan, perpetually bright with unblinking vigilance, found the source of the hissing.

((Much later, in a bar and speaking with the mournful gravity of the willingly drunk, she'd explain with explicit detail to an amused Anko what really happened in that mission and oh gods, he was hot and damn, that man could_ kiss_ and yes, of course he was better than anyone she'd ever kissed before why do you ask?))

Kakashi swore.

((Then it'll turn out that Anko actually was Yours Truly in a terrible, evil disguise and even her best friend was helping That Man. He'll grin that lazy grin of his and say why thank you he was flattered, no he wasn't doing this to torture her and hey, before she killed him maybe they could start over again. And then while she was trying to sort it out in a sluggish fog of alcohol, he'd show her what he meant by staring over again (certainly not the whole relationship; he'd spent years building it up in the reluctantly careful way keen bachelors do) and finally, finish what he'd been previously interrupted in.))

But right now reality was interrupting in the form of a gleaming kunai, which was hastily pulled out of the ground beside them and thrown back by Kakashi.

Dazed and more than a little bewildered, Kurenai watched, disconnected, as if a judge at one of the Jounin examinations—Kakashi scrambling up, dragging her by the arm through the stream she'd just fifteen minutes ago been dragging _his_ limp body through, rolling and ducking under the cover of bushes. The explosion behind them rained burning leaves.

It was perhaps the noise more than anything else that jolted everything in a roaring rush and then she was back, shaking her arm from his and giving no more than a curt nod to his assessing glance.

((It wasn't romantic. It wasn't even the slightest dreamy. They were both dripping and shivering and bleeding basically acting on sheer adrenaline and instincts alone, she remembered later.))

But then, battles were always ugly.

It was only in the middle of her finishing the last hand symbols of a fatal genjutsu when she had finally, resolutely recovered from her more flighty emotions and got a hold on the impassive jounin front she was famous for. How dare he, the voice of Righteous Indignation fumed. Assuming things like that!

Sensing rather than seeing his eyes on her back, she summoned up all her willing resentment and turned, ready to blast him for his unprofessional behaviour.

"Kakashi, how _could _yo--"

Then her breath caught.

Kakashi was grinning; one eye curved in that familiarly languid wink and a gloved hand rubbing his smooth chin ruefully.

His mask wasn't on.

((Cheater, she thought crossly, and ignored the breath caught in her throat. Just like the last time. But then this second kiss was better than the first, if possible, and she decided magnanimously to let it pass. Just in case the bar closed early, at any rate.))

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_incredible the amount of attention a mask gets, really _

_>_

For **Mature**, who requested an appearance of either Kurenai, Gemna, Kakashi or Shizune.

Yes, I'm back after a nice long hiatus! Originally started off as a 200 word drabble but got… out of hand. I seem to be afflicted with comma abuse, long sentences andlots of general confusion in format again. GRR. This fic needs concrit and beta-reading, and a lot of it methinks and I'd be much obliged if you could spare me some of your thoughts.

To speed up finishing off everyone's requests, I'll be doing about short drabbles or so (which will hopefully not go off without me again) with one of Naruto 20 themes in mind. This one initially had the theme of _(19) Cavities_, can you believe it.

Many thanks for all feedback! XDD


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